A study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease uncovered a marker and new testing instrument for frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which may help differentiate this disorder from Alzheimer's disease, reports Medical News Today . Persons with FTD may experience atypical mood changes, like acting more impulsively, losing social inhibitions, or apathy. The researchers explain that "moral emotions" characterize "affective experiences promoting cooperation and group cohesion," like admiration, shame, or pity. The team organized a test for moral emotions, with 22 participants with FTD, 15 people with Alzheimer's, and 45 with neither condition asked to choose one of four possible answers in 42 hypothetical situations. Each question dealt with the feeling that the situation might provoke. Although FTD was found to blunt emotions overall, it also impairs moral emotions significantly more than non-moral ones. In comparison, those with Alzheimer's exhibited no such impairment and did just as well in the test as persons without FTD or Alzheimer's.

A Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data found the amount of time Americans 60 and older spend watching screens has increased nearly 30 minutes a day over the past 10 years. This demographic currently spends more than half of their daily leisure time — four hours and 16 minutes — before screens, mainly watching TV or videos. Screen time has risen for those in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and up, with this increase apparent across genders and levels of education. A slight decrease in time devoted to other recreational activities, like reading or socializing, also was observed. This trend is concurrent with significant growth in the adoption of digital technology — including Internet and smartphones — by older Americans. Generally, leisure time for Americans 60 and older has remained stable at about seven hours daily, as has the time spent on other activities.

University of California, San Francisco Professor Louise Aronson says geriatricians too often concentrate on treating "the oldest and the frailest," rather than focusing on healthy aging, reports National Public Radio . She argues this approach must be rethought. "If somebody comes in with disease symptoms and they're an older person, we do sometimes find that single unifying diagnosis, but that's actually the exception," Aronson says. "If we're being careful, we more likely find something new and maybe a few other things. We add to a list and, we end up with a larger list, not a smaller one, if we're really paying attention to everything going on in that person's life and with their health." Aronson also is adamant of the need to optimize vaccines for older adults. "We're all different throughout our life spans, and we need to target our interventions to all of us, not just to certain segments of the population, namely children and adults, leaving seniors out," she contends. Moreover, Aronson emphasizes that medication's effects on older adults can change over time, and "what really matters is the interaction between the medication and the person. So even if the medication stays the same, the person may be changing."

A study published in JAMA Network Open found preventing falls among seniors who have just left the hospital is vital to keeping them safe, reports WHTC. "Hospitals spend a lot of time thinking about fall risk while the senior is in the hospital, but there's much less attention to the senior after leaving the hospital," said Geoffrey Hoffman at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. Analysis of more than 8.3 million subjects, 65 and older, who were hospitalized in 2013 and 2014, determined roughly 14 percent were rehospitalized within 30 days of leaving. About 5 percent were rehospitalized due to fall-related injuries. Hoffman suggested the prevalence of post-hospital-stay falls signals a gap in the quality of care provided before and after persons leave the hospital. Medicare penalizes hospitals due to falls among care recipients, and staff often seeks to cut such risks by discouraging seniors from getting up and moving around without assistance. The researchers warned such measures could elevate the risk of falls after leaving the hospital.

Fast Company cites this year's LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, which found that 43 percent of U.S. companies surveyed will spend more on corporate learning this year versus just 27 percent in 2017. The more important news, though, may be the sharp uptick in the number of employers that report tracking the skills of existing employees. That practice rose 32 percent over last year. The article's author asks: "Why are companies developing existing, rather than sourcing, new talent?" He cites the competition for talent and the rise of accelerated training programs that equip workers with the skills to succeed in so-called hybrid jobs like data science.

A study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis published in Cell Metabolism found older mice infused with a specific protein from the blood of younger mice live longer and exhibit more youthful traits, reports New Atlas . The study concerns nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which is critical for healthy energy metabolism, and whose levels decline in all tissues as the body ages. "Many researchers are interested in finding anti-aging interventions that might maintain NAD levels as we get older," says Washington University's Shin-ichiro Imai. The research suggests the eNAMPT protein, which circulates in the blood and plays a basic role in NAD biosynthesis, could be the underlying mechanism for this effect. "That we can take eNAMPT from the blood of young mice and give it to older mice and see that the older mice show marked improvements in health — including increased physical activity and better sleep — is remarkable," Imai notes. The team also used circulating eNAMPT levels to predict the overall lifespan of individual mice. The more eNAMPT detected in the blood, the longer the specimen ultimately lived.

AoA's recent Alzheimer's Disease Programs Initiative - Grants to States and Communities program announcement seeks to support and promote the development of dementia-capable home and community-based service (HCBS) systems around the country, reports the Administration for Community Living . There are two application options contained in the single funding announcement, one for states and the other for communities. No entity is allowed to apply for both options. This grant opportunity is set to close on Aug. 13.

The results of a clinical trial published in Hypertension found the blood pressure drug nilvadipine can improve blood flow to a key region of the brain in people with Alzheimer's, reports WebMD . Forty-four participants with mild to moderate Alzheimer's were randomly assigned to take either nilvadipine or inactive placebos for six months. The cohort on nilvadipine exhibited a 20 percent gain in blood flow to the hippocampus. Researchers acknowledged the study was too small and short-term to know whether this effect could impact Alzheimer's symptoms. The study is part of a larger trial exploring whether nilvadipine could improve memory and thinking skills in those with Alzheimer's, but evidence that the medication helped has not materialized. However, subjects with early-stage Alzheimer's did show signs of a benefit.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has organized a transnational senior fraud strike force to crack down on fraudsters exploiting older adults, reports ABC News . The initiative is a joint effort between six U.S. Attorney's offices from California to Georgia, the FBI, and the Postal Inspection Agency. "The new Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force will bring together the expertise and resources of our prosecutors, federal and international law enforcement partners, and other government agencies to better target, investigate, and prosecute criminals abroad who prey on U.S. seniors," stated Attorney General William Barr. FBI Director Christopher Wray added, "It doesn't matter where these criminals live. We're committed to keeping our senior citizens safe, whether they're being targeted door-to-door, over the phone, or online from thousands of miles away."

A study published in Nutrients found more than a quarter of adults 50 and older are deficient in vitamin D, reports Medical Xpress . Fifty-seven percent had inadequate serum vitamin D levels, of which 26 percent were deemed vitamin D deficient. Among the determinants of deficiency were female gender, age of 80 years or more, smoking, non-Caucasian ethnicity, obesity, and poor self-reported health. Use of vitamin D supplements, sun travel in the past year, and the summer season were identified as positive determinants, and thus potentially protective against vitamin D deficiency in seniors. "Those who used a vitamin D supplement, were less likely to be vitamin D deficient as may be expected, but supplement use was low (4.4 percent) and, therefore, food fortification and other strategies need to be considered at policy level for older populations," noted Trinity College Dublin's Niamh Aspell. Trinity's Eamon Laird added that "countries such as Finland have implemented a successful vitamin D fortification policy which has all but eliminated deficiency in the population. Such a policy could easily be implemented in the U.K. and Ireland."